Palm has been struggling in recent
years after being one of the more successful companies in the
technology realm in the heyday of PDAs. When the smartphone started
to replace the PDA, Palm found it harder to compete.

Palm
announced its first webOS smartphone back at CES in January and the
Pre hit the market earlier this summer to lackluster sales on the
Sprint network. Palm today has announced a new webOS device also
bound for Sprint called the Pixi.

Palm
hails the Pixi as its thinnest phone yet. The Pixi has a full
keyboard that is on the front of the phone like a Blackberry rather
than hidden under the screen with a slider form factor like the Pre.
Palm is mum on an exact launch date for the Pixi, but says it will
hit the Sprint network in time for the holidays.

“With Palm
webOS, we’re creating a new, more intuitive smartphone experience
defined by unmatched simplicity and usefulness,” said Jon
Rubinstein, Palm chairman and chief executive officer. “Palm Pixi
brings this unique experience to a broader range of people who want
enhanced messaging and social networking in a design that lets them
express their personal style.”

Palm will also offer the
Pixi in an Artists Series with covers for the device unveiled at the
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York starting tomorrow. The Pixi
includes the webOS platform and the handset operates on dual-band
CDMA2000 and 3G EVDA Rev A networks. The screen of the Pixi is a
2.63-inch unit with 18-bit color and a resolution of 320 x 400.

The
device supports email with direct push technology, Exchange support,
and Pop3/IMAP account support. Full messaging features are supported
with MMS, IM, and SMS and GPS is integrated. Pixi has a 2-megapixel
camera with LED flash and Palm equipped the phone with ambient light,
acceleration, and proximity sensors.

The handset supports MP3,
AAC, AAC+, AMR, QCELP, WAV audio formats and MPEG-4, H.263, H.264
video formats. Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo is supported as
well. Internal memory is 8GB, but only 7GB is accessible by the user.
A 3.5mm headphone jack is built-in, the device features Palm Synergy,
and the other webOS features that the Pre offers. Overall dimensions
are 2.17-inches W x 4.37-inches H x 0.43-inches D and it weighs 3.51
ounces.

Palm also confirmed the rumored
price cut on the Pre. Starting today the Pre is available for
$149.99 with a new 2-year agreement after a $150 instant rebate and a
$100 mail-in rebate.

"We can't expect users to use common sense. That would eliminate the need for all sorts of legislation, committees, oversight and lawyers." -- Christopher Jennings